Standardization of the hard- and software used to operate manipulators at ASDEX Upgrade

Abstract

Manipulators are an important tool to position diagnostics or samples near to the plasma without breaking the vacuum of fusion devices. They can be used for different purposes like measuring plasma parameters with electrical or magnetic probes near to the core plasma or to investigate plasma-wall interaction by exposing dedicated samples. ASDEX Upgrade is operating a set of manipulators, the midplane manipulator, the divertor manipulator, the reciprocating X-point probe and two fast ion loss detectors.These manipulators were developed and installed over more than 20 years of operation of ASDEX Upgrade. The hardware and the control systems are based on different platforms. Refurbishments of manipulator systems required for various reasons were used to implement a standardized hard- and software.The new control systems are designed as similar as possible, regarding both maintenance and operation. The manipulators are now driven by servo motors and motor controllers of the same model family, combined with S7 Simatic PLC controls for interface and also to control the peripheral systems like the generation of the vacuum and to connect the manipulators to the ASDEX Upgrade control system. This paper gives an overview about the status and recent updates of the different manipulators and their control systems, their capabilities and their integration into the ASDEX Upgrade framework.